BJP to remain short numbered in June-July session of Rajya Sabha

The BJP and its allies are expected to gain seats in the next round of elections in the Rajya Sabha in June-July but would still remain short of numbers to overcome the Opposition.

According to sources, over 50 seats from various states would fall vacant in June and July as members would retire. The BJP is expected to improve its tally by eight seats in this round but would still not achieve the comfort levels, where it can push legislations easily with help from its allies.

Since the 2014 Lok Sabha elections in which the BJP secured an absolute majority of 282 seats in the Lower House, the saffron party has been facing stiff opposition from the Congress and its allies, who have been setting the agenda in the Rajya Sabha, disrupting the House at will.

Among the key BJP members who will retire from the Upper House in the next few months are Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman from Andhra Pradesh, Suresh Prabhu and Birender Singh from Haryana, MJ Akbar from Jharkhand, M Venkaiah Naidu from Karnataka, Piyush Goyal from Maharashtra, and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi from Uttar Pradesh. At present, the BJP has 49 members while its allies the Shiv Sena and the Shiromani Akali Dal have three seats each.

Against this, the Congress alone has 65 members, while SP has 15, JD(U) has 13, TMC has 12, BSP has 10 and NCP has six keeping the ruling party managers on tenterhooks.

Sources said around 15 BJP members would retire over the next few months but the saffron party hopes to re-elect 17 members.

Likewise, around 21 Congress members would retire over the next few months and the party is expected to reelect around 13. The rest would depend on the position of regional players who may like to re-elect a candidate of their choice.

Faced with an aggressive opposition which in the past stalled the Upper House over various issues like helping of former IPL chief Lalit Modi, provocative speeches by BJP leaders, intolerance, President's rule in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand and naming of Sonia Gandhi in the AgustaWestland deal, the ruling party leaders have often suggested a reorganisation of the Upper House, arguing that a hostile opposition was deliberately blocking passage of key legislations.

The Congress, on the other hand, claims the effective strength of the Opposition in the RS helps retain the balance in the functioning of Parliament and keeps BJP in check.